About HeavenEarth Church
We exist to make a lasting impact in our community
Sunday Gatherings at 9:30am In-Person & Facebook Live
The HeavenEarth Backstory
After serving in an established church for six years, I (Ross) felt like God had ignited something in my heart and my mind that I couldn’t ignore any longer.
In the spring of 2018, I felt like it was time to take a risk and try to start a different kind of church with people who, perhaps like me, wanted something more with church, but could never seem to find it. Maybe they had given up on the idea that Christian community could be a legitimate source of purpose, healing, justice, and hope.
Don’t get me wrong; I didn’t set out to start the best church ever or a megachurch, or the perfect church. I just felt called to start a better church, one where all kinds of people could gather and take what Jesus says and does very seriously.
What always drew me to Jesus was who he spent most of his time with and what he showed and taught them over and again. He said that the kingdom of heaven was near, like heaven had started to burst into earth and that one day, when the work was finished, heaven and earth would be one.
HeavenEarth.
He did not say that he came to save our souls from hell, so we could go to some paradise resort after we die. (In fact, the word “hell” only appears around thirteen times in the entire Bible.)
Jesus spoke as if heaven can start to fill our lives now, as the Spirit of Jesus fills our hearts and lives now, so that we can join Jesus to build HeavenEarth starting now.
The Mission and The Values
HeavenEarth Church exists to make a lasting impact in our community by building relationships with all kinds of folks, working in the community and with individuals to help people experience freedom from their burdens, and helping people know and live like Jesus together. We do all this so that our community is transformed for generations to come. Here’s what we value as we try to fulfill our mission.
We Value YOU
We want to meet you where you are and see you as God’s masterpiece.
We Value JESUS
We want to fix our eyes on what Jesus says and does and be changed by his Spirit.
We Value ACTION
We want to learn and make a difference by walking the walk and putting what Jesus says and does into practice.
We Value PARTNERSHIPS
We want to bless our community through friendships and partnerships.
We Value RESPONSIBILITY
If you want to see what we did last year to fulfill our mission in alignment with our values, check out our Impact Report.
Meet the Staff
Ross Stackhouse
Pastor
Director of OHJ (Operations, Hospitality & Joy)
What’s HeavenEarth Spaces Got to Do With It?
The church is not a building, but we do meet in a building every week that has a really cool story. It is an historic building built in 1904 (with an addition built in the 1950s).
In 2019, Whiteland UMC, the former trustees of the building, voted to conclude their ministry. Then, we were presented with the opportunity to utilize the facility.
To make a long story short, we ended up creating a new 501c3 organization with a separate Board of Directors called HeavenEarth Spaces, Inc., whose mission is to create and maintain affordable space for nonprofits and families.
HeavenEarth Spaces became the owner of the building in 2022. HeavenEarth Spaces has started the process of transforming this historic church building into a community center.
With the help of HeavenEarth Spaces, Resources of Hope completed a buildout of the lower level and moved in in July 2022.
HeavenEarth Church has slowly been improving the upper level. The building is used by AA groups, scouts, and other community organizations.
In October 2022, HeavenEarth Church completed the stunning “Tree of Life” mural in partnership with Erin Davis with Love More (paint provided by Johnson County Community Foundation).